PO Box 50839

Hidd, Kingdom of Bahrain

April 24, 2013

Dear Mr. Bernard,

Further to your e-mail reply sent on April 22, 2013, I would to thank you and your 

colleagues for their time in considering my request for this Exemption from 

§61.109(j)(4).

I appreciate the Administrator's concerns. My request for the Exemption was because 

of a concern in the interpretation of the Regulations for whether flight time in a foreignregistered Weight-Shift Control Aircraft would be accepted. I refer to §61.51(j) which 

states:

(j) Aircraft requirements for logging flight time. For a person to log flight time, 

the time must be acquired in an aircraft that is identified as an aircraft under 61.5(b), 

and is1) An aircraft of U.S. registry with either a standard or special airworthiness 

certificate;

2) An aircraft of foreign registry with an airworthiness certificate that is approved 

by the aviation authority of a foreign country that is a Member State to the 

Convention on International Civil Aviation Organization;

In addition to the United States, where I hold Sport Pilot privileges in Weight-Shift 

Control Aircraft- Land, I hold privileges to operate Weight-Shift Category Aircraft, as 

defined in §1.1, as pilot-in-command in Canada, Costa Rica and the United Arab 

Emirates. All three countries are contracting States to the Convention on International 

Civil Aviation. The issue is on how Weight-Shift Aircraft are categorized and regulated, 
given that this segment of aviation is not addressed by ICAO in Annex 1 (Personnel 

Licensing) and Annex 8 (Airworthiness of Aircraft). 

The approach taken by the United States has been the creation of the Sport Pilot grade 

of certification and Light Sport airworthiness classification. These aircraft require a 

valid Registration Certificate and a Special Airworthiness Certificate. 

Canada’s approach differs substantially. All Weight-Shift Control Aircraft are fall under 

the Basic Ultralight Aeroplane Category (BULA). All Ultralight Aeroplanes must be 

registered with Transport Canada and therefore have a distinctive registration issued to 

them with the letters “C-I###” where ### are consecutive letters, and pilots must hold a 

Student Pilot Permit, Ultralight Aeroplane Permit, or a Private, Commercial or Airline 

Transport Pilot Aeroplane License to operate a Canadian-registered Weight-Shift 

Control Aircraft. The most significant difference with the US approach is that aircraft in 

the Canadian Basic and Advanced Ultralight Aeroplane Category are not issued a 

Certificate of Airworthiness or Flight Permit. 

Costa Rica’s strategy is similar. Although the regulation governing Weight-Shift Control 

Aircraft is named “RAC 103,” it is considerably more complex that United States 14 CFR 

§103. Costa Rican “Vehiculos Ultraligeros” must be registered with the Dirección 

General de Aviación Civil, and are issued a registration using the letters “UL-TI-###”

where ### is a consecutive number. Pilots are issued a Permit by the DGAC and only 

those ultralight vehicles which are used in commercial activities require a Special 

Airworthiness Certificate. The Costa Rican DGAC has validated my United States pilot 

Certificate, including Sport Pilot privileges for Weight-Shift Control Aircraft, to fly their 

aircraft for private purposes.

The United Arab Emirates’ General Civil Aviation Authority regulates “Ultralight and 

Microlight” operations under CAR Part IV Section D. Weight-Shift Control Aircraft are 

registered by their owners to an Approved Organization which exercises operational 

control of the aircraft. Aircraft are issued a registration using the letters “A6-X##”, where 
## are consecutive letters. Again, in this case, pilots are issued a Permit (which is 

delegated to the Approved Organization by the GCAA) and no Airworthiness Certificate 

exists. Instead, a “Flight Permit” is issued as evidence that the aircraft has been 

inspected and certified fit to fly by a GCAA approved and qualified representative of the 

organization within the previous 12 months. 

You will therefore understand my concern about meeting the requirement of “An aircraft 

of foreign registry with an airworthiness certificate”, as the regulatory approach differs 

so much in the different countries where I am able to meet the solo flight time 

requirements.

The Weight-Shift Control Aircraft which meet the definition of §1.1 which I have flown to 

date are as follows:

 Apollo Jetstar- Registration A6X-AR 

http://www.halley.hu/apollojetstar/index.html

 Apollo Deltajet II- Registration A6X-AR (different aircraft at a later point in 

time) http://www.halley.hu/apollo.php

 Airtrike Berlin Eagle V- Registration UL-TI-059

http://www.airtrikeberlin.de/site/2/Airtrikes.html

 Although I haven’t flown a Canadian-registered Weight-Shift Control 

Aircraft solo yet, the most likely type would be a Poisk-06.

I hope the information provided will be helpful towards clearing the obstacle I presently 

face for pursuing my Private Pilot Weight-Shift Certificate.

Sincerely,

Uwe Goehl